SendBolt — UX Case Study
A faster, more reliable way to send product and marketing emails
Introduction
Email is still the most-used communication tool in modern workspaces, but legacy platforms are built for individuals—not for teams moving quickly. SendBolt was created to modernize email workflows by reducing clutter, surfacing priority, and embedding collaboration directly into threads.
SendBolt is a collaborative SMTP and email infrastructure platform that helps startups and growing teams integrate email with minimal technical setup. The MVP focused on streamlining common pain points in setting up transactional email: API keys, DNS records, webhook integrations, and inbox visibility.
The Problem: Emails Were Being Sent — But Confidence Wasn’t Delivered
High-volume teams like operations, support, and sales suffer most from outdated email UX. Important threads are buried. Internal communication requires separate tools. And critical actions are often delayed because the inbox lacks prioritization.
According to Superhuman’s 2023 report, 63% of professionals say email is the most stressful part of their workday. In our early interviews, users consistently said, “I’m always afraid I’ll miss something important.”
Challenges:
No prioritization of actionable emails
Context-switching between email, Slack, and Notion
No way to leave internal notes or collaborate without forwarding
We talked to dozens of users — from fast-moving dev teams to cautious legal/compliance folks. Everyone wanted speed, visibility, and peace of mind. But the tools they used felt fragmented.
Here’s what we heard:
“I don’t know if my domain is configured correctly.”
“The UI looks like it was built in 2008.”
“I just want to see what’s broken and fix it.”
and many more
User Personas
Persona 1 – Sarah, the SaaS Business Owner
Sarah runs a growing subscription-based product. She’s non-technical, but needs to send onboarding, reset, and billing emails. She relies on her dev team, but wants autonomy over what’s being sent.
Pain Points:
Doesn’t understand DNS, SMTP, or API keys.
Feels blocked anytime she wants visibility into sent emails.
Gets frustrated asking engineers for setup confirmations.
Persona 2 – Norrin, the Full-Stack Engineer
Dev manages backend integrations. He’s experienced but overloaded. He doesn’t want to fight UI clutter or dig through poor documentation.
Pain Points:
Hates switching between DNS, SMTP tools, and webhook logs.
Finds UIs like Brevo bloated with marketing features.
Needs quick API access and log feedback to debug issues.
Competitive Analysis
We evaluated four major tools: Brevo, Mailgun, Resend, and Postmark. Here's what we found:
What we learned:
Mailgun’s API documentation and sandbox testing are best-in-class.
Resend’s minimal UI speed is loved by developers.
Postmark’s delivery tracking is highly trusted.
But none of these tools let teams easily collaborate on sending and verifying transactional email.
We borrowed the best parts and reimagined the rest.
Features We Took & Evolved
I didn’t want to overload the UI with buzzwords or graphs that nobody reads.
I focused on what matters at a glance: delivery success, errors, and domain health.
Screens I focused on:
1. Visual DNS Checker
Real-time verification of MX, DKIM, and SPF records with guided fixes
2. Smart API Console
Live API key creation with copy-ready code snippets and test-send option
3. Webhook & Log Viewer
Built-in log explorer to test webhooks without third-party tools
Results and Metrics
After a 3-week beta testing with 25 internal and some external users, I noticed :
37% faster email processing time (based on user time logs)
45% fewer missed follow-ups (measured via task tracking tools)
92% of users said internal notes replaced at least half their Slack back-and-forth
Final Thoughts
Designing SendBolt challenged me to rethink email not just as a communication medium, but as a space where teams actually work. By embedding the collaboration layer into the message flow, we reduced context switching and helped teams move faster with less stress.
This project deepened my interest in product design that removes friction and encourages team clarity.